


out of depth

by Nokomis



Category: Marvel (Comics)
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-05
Updated: 2016-12-05
Packaged: 2018-09-06 14:39:47
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 531
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8756536
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Nokomis/pseuds/Nokomis
Summary: But something about Daken brought out the best and the worst in him.





	

**Author's Note:**

> For Thatregencygrrrl, who wanted Daken/Johnny, one reacting to the other crying.

Johnny had officially lost control of his life. Not only was he holed up in the sad, smoldering remains of what used to be his favorite deli, mourning the loss of the finest sandwich in the city, because thanks, supervillains, but he was also stuck there with a crying Daken. 

 

It was the tears that were really throwing Johnny. He was cool with smoldering remains, really, that was definitely in his wheelhouse, but tears! From someone who Johnny thought of as sort of a kindred-spirit when it came to matters of being cool! Johnny had no freaking clue what to do.

 

“Um,” he said, looking around helplessly. In the distance, he could hear a crash as his teammates finished off the supervillain responsible for the destruction of his deli. Seriously, Johnny should be the one crying, not Daken. “Dude. Your eyes? Are doing the thing?”

 

Johnny really was way more eloquent than this, he was sure of it. But Daken-- something about Daken brought out the best and the worst in him.

 

“Shut up,” Daken muttered, looking away. All this did was cause his misery to be dramatically back-lit by the last few flames eating away at Johnny’s favorite booth. It was unfairly attractive.

 

Johnny hated everything about today. 

 

“Seriously, dude,” Johnny said, reaching out and setting a hand lightly on Daken’s shoulder. It was an iffy proposition; Daken in his normal mood would either jerk away or pull him in closer. But Daken just stood there, though Johnny could feel the tension in his shoulder. “It sucks, I know. But you’re strong, you know?”

 

Johnny wasn’t entirely sure what had gone wrong -- Daken had obviously recognized someone, someone who had cornered him just as the fight had gone from mean to violently destructive, and then Johnny had found him like this. Obviously it was someone from Daken’s past, and obviously they had known what buttons to push, because those were definite tear-tracks leading down through the soot on Daken’s cheeks. 

 

Johnny knew Daken well enough to know that the buttons pushed had likely been daddy issues, whether they involved Wolverine or one of Daken’s other, somehow worse father figures. And frankly, Johnny didn’t have a clue about what the appropriate thing to say was, since his overwhelming urge was to just tell Daken to turn that frown upside down.

 

Even Johnny knew that wasn’t helpful.

 

Daken took a deep breath, and his features hardened into what Johnny privately thought of as Daken’s Wannabe Wolverine face. “I wasn’t crying.”

 

“Of course not,” Johnny said. “Probably your eyes were just leaking. From the smoke.”

 

Johnny was an excellent friend.

 

Daken’s game face dropped away and was replaced with a familiar look of exasperation. “Johnny, darling. You aren’t as hilarious as you think you are.”

 

“And yet, you continue to have me grace your presence,” Johnny said, on far more solid ground now that Daken’s emotions had retreated back to whatever psychological abyss he kept them in. 

 

“It’s because you’re easy,” Daken replied. 

 

“A shot to the heart,” Johnny said, clutching at his. “You wanna go see if any food survived in the kitchen?”

 

“Sounds disgusting,” Daken said, but he lead the way.


End file.
